I am sure there are several things you think about when it comes to your leadership or management style. Being kind, punctual, and ahead of the game, just to name a few. But do you know that there is one thing that would give your leadership a serious boost? It is the confidence you have in yourself that will give you what you need to go to the next level.
Ok, of course this sounds cliche, but hear me out. Leadership is about influence. Yes you can influence others with a lack of confidence, but how much more effective do you think you will be if had a high level of confidence around what it is that you do and how you do it. I tend to think that the word confidence has a bad rep because some people confuse confidence with arrogance but I definitely understand the difference. Arrogance is more about you than it is about the advancement of others. Sure arrogant people have confidence, but not all confident people are arrogant.
Confidence means to me that not only are you able to teach and train on the behalf of a concept of system, but you also in your mannerisms, tone of voice, and body language, you are communicating that you believe in what it is that you are doing. Confidence is all about the belief you have in your self as it relates to your knowledge of a topic or subject. It also includes your ability to articulate those things as well
So you might be asking yourself, how do I build confidence? Here are a few suggestions I would take:
1) Find a mentor or coach in your field. Just the act of talking through things will give you the opportunity to get out things that you may be uncertain about. Your coach or mentor can definitely help with guiding or affirming your thoughts while offering a different perspective.
2) Allocate time daily to self improvement. None of us are perfect, but all of us have the ability to create progress. One of the most important areas to improve our confidence is working on ourselves. Find books and podcast that can be easily plugged into your life that can make a positive impact on your life.
3) Speak firmly about the thing you KNOW about. Often times we get timid about the things we have thorough knowledge on. We have to commit to delivering firm messages that support our knowledge. When we are timid, it projects that we are uncertain about what it is that we are doing. When we are firm, we create a connection that is stronger with our audience.
I hope this read helps you become a stronger leader!
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